LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

I think that with this album King Crimson started their most experimental period during the seventies, and the band also had a new line-up with very good musicians. Bill Bruford, IMO, was, with Mike Giles, their best drummer, and he really found a good place in King Crimson. In this band, he found a way to show more his skills as drummer, and his playing became more "heavy" in comparison to his work with YES. John Wetton also was a very good bassist and lead singer, and in King Crimson he found the first opportunity to be one of the main composers and the lead singer. He and Bruford worked very well in King Crimson, and they became one of the "heaviest" rhythm sections in Progressive Rock. Jamie Muir, maybe the most "experimental" musician in the band, also worked very well with Bruford. Muir`s percussion instruments sound very good in this album, but he left the band after this album was released. David Cross was maybe the most "conventional" musician in this line- up, with his classical music influences. Robert Fripp also became a more "heavy" guitar player with this line-up, and he also started to enjoy more the freedom of improvising, as this line-up was very good improvising in the studio and in concerts. So, IMO, this band closed their history in the seventies with two years (1972-1974) of very good music,very "heavy", really, IMO.

"Larks`Tongues in Aspic Part One" sounds more like a song with a basic structure on which all the members, particularly Muir, improvisd and experimented with sounds.

"Book of Saturday" is more a "pre-composed song", a good song with lyrics written by Richard Palmer-James (former guitarist and lyricist with Supertramp in their first album only). He also wrote most of the lyrics for these King Crimson line-ups (1972-74). Wetton also performed this song wit the band ASIA in their reunion tour in 1990-91, and he also has played this song as soloist.

"Exiles" is the best song in this album, with mellotrons, violin and a flute part (uncredited) by David Cross. This song sounds more related to the early years of the band in sound.Cross influences a lot this song, and he also was one of the composers of this song.

"Easy Money" is another good song, more "heavy" in sound, and with Muir`s good percussion, and a sinister laugh at the end of the song.

"The Talking Drum" sounds like another improvisation recorded in the studio. It has Wetton and Bruford playing in very good synchronization.

"Larks`Tongues in Aspic Part Two" is another instrumental song, the heaviest song in this album, with very good guitars by Fripp and sound effects maybe played by Muir.

In conclusion, this is a very good album in one of their most interesting periods.